TO BE A PILGRIM

There's no discouragement
shall make him once relent
his first avowed intent
to be a pilgrim...

That said...

You've only got between 5 and 7 days left to catch all three episodes of my radio dramatisation of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress on BBC iPlayer.

Anton Rodgers and Neil Dudgeon head a stellar cast that includes Alec McCowan, Anna Massey, Peter Bowles, Don Warrington and Derek Waring.

You can listen to all three episodes here.

John Bunyan also wrote a well-known hymn on the subject of pilgrimage and, as it doesn't feature in the dramatisation (but is obviously a close relative), here it is together with assorted illustrations from various period editions of his famous book...

 

HE WHO WOULD VALIANT BE

It would be nice if the BBC thought to tell a writer that one of their vintage works was getting an airing on Radio 4 Extra, but, then, they probably think I'm dead!

Anyway, courtesy of a pal (thanks for the heads-up, Michael!), I now know that my three-part dramatisation of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is being re-broadcast starting this morning at 10:00 am.

Bunyan's allegory on the journey of life is framed with the story of the author's trials and periods of imprisonment for 'holding unlawful religious assemblies' that began in 1660 and lasted for twelve years. During that time, Bunyan (incarcerated in Bedford Gaol) penned his most famous work, The Pilgrim's Progress, from This World to That Which is to Come.

Anton Rodgers plays John Bunyan, Neil Dudgeon is Christian and the starry supporting cast includes Anna Massey, Alec McCowan, Don Warrington, Anna Massey, Peter Bowles and Derek Waring.

You'll find programme details here and following each day's broadcast the episodes can be listened to again, on-line, via iPlayer for the next seven days.

CALL THAT PROGRESS?

They've done it again! The BBC! Shoving out some of my old programmes on Radio 7 without even the common decency to tell me they were repeating my work for which, I might add, they pay a minute pittance that makes peanuts look like a banquet!

This time it was my three-part dramatisation of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress which I only discovered had been revived because a listener kindly wrote to express his appreciation -- thank you, Mark W!

Observant readers of this blog will recall that this has happened before with the self-same series - just over a year ago!

My version of Bunyan's famous allegorical story starred Anton Rogers, Neil Dudgeon, Alec McCowen, Anna Massey, Don Warrington, Peter Bowles and Derek Waring and there's still time to tune into the saga of Christian's journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City taking advantage of BBC iPlayer.

However, I can't resist pointing out the total sloppiness of the BBC's on-line picture researcher who selected the image for their programme page...


This has absolutely nothing to do with The Pilgrim's Progress but shows, instead, the Pilgrim FATHERS landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620

Yes, John Bunyan was a Puritan, but he certainly wasn't among those, depicted in Charles Lucy's iconic painting of those 17th Century British tourists taking their first trip to the USA! There's a good reason for this, Bunyan wasn't born till 1628!

Still, I suppose those other pilgrims did view the New World as the Promised Land...

THAT'S PROGRESS

There was a time when the BBC was such a thoroughly well-brought up and gentlemanly establishment that if a programme you had contributed to was being given a second airing, Somebody would have written to you on Corporation notepaper and given you the glad tidings...

Not nowadays! I suppose having to pay Jonathan Ross £6 million a year has meant that they simply can't afford to employ the Somebody any more or, maybe, just can't run to the expense of the notepaper (and postage) involved...

If a BBC contributor wants to keep up with examples of their oeuvre being once again shared with the listening public, they need to rely on the good offices of friends and acquaintances, such as the one who excitedly gripped my arm on Saturday and said, "Congratulations!"

"On what?" I asked.

"On next week's broadcasts!" he continued, his excitement still evident.

"What broadcasts?" I demanded, supposing this particular acquaintance to have confused me (as sometimes happens, albeit fleetingly) with Brian Sewell.

"The Pilgrim's Progress!" he explained, identifying a three-part dramatisation that I made a few years ago of John Bunyan's famous book which has since been gathering dust somewhere in the bowels of Broadcasting House.

This was welcome news, indeed - not from a pecuniary point of view since the sum for two repeats of three sixty-minute episodes (to wit, six hours of broadcasting) will only yield a revenue in the region of £30 - but because I was quite fond of this mini-epic which set Bunyan's well-known allegorical tale of Christian's journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City within the context of Bunyan's trial for preaching without a licence and his subsequent imprisonment in Bedford Gaol during which time he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress.

Anton Rogers as Bunyan and Neil Dudgeon as Christian headed a great cast which included Alec McCowen, Anna Massey, Don Warrington, Peter Bowles and Derek Waring.

The Pilgrim's Progress is being broadcast on Radio 7 at various times from today until 6th November.

You'll find the transmission times on this schedule and you can check out this short review from The Independent on Sunday when the dramatization was first broadcast back in 2004. As another reviewer wrote: "Christian or no, it's worth listening to for the light it casts on that period in English history."

And for those of you who share my love of maps, here's one of Christian's pilgrimage from This World to That Which is to Come...

Click to enlarge

Had I possessed the relevant information I would, of course, have marked your present location with an arrow and the legend: YOU ARE HERE!

NIGHTIE-KNIGHTS

Singing 'Onward Christian Soldiers', as I told you the other week, is, apparently, the ideal way to time a perfect boiled egg. But as Qenny commented at the time, not everyone feels comfortable with such blatantly militant - and military - imagery

As I pointed out, the image of Christians being an army of God began early in Church History with [Saint] Paul's letter to the followers in Ephesus, to whom he wrote...

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints....

Ephesians 6:10-18

'Onward Christian Soldiers' and other hymns like 'Fight the Good Fight' and John Bunyan's 'He Who Would Valiant Be' all draw their inspiration from this piece of New Testament scripture.

So to do a zealous organisation called Armor of God whose website my friend Jen ran across the other day. These good folk are currently selling clothing with what Jen rightly describes as The Ultimate Designer Label --- The Whole Armor of God Pajama set...


The Armor of of PJs are intended to "help your children to depend on God to protect them from their fears, doubts, and uncertainties at night so their sleep can be restful and peaceful."

Which might not be so easy when you've got to cope with a sheild and helmet...


Maybe it would be better to wait for -- COMING SOON! -- 'Armor of God Blankets 'or the Anna & Samuel Armor of God Pajama American Boy and Girl Dolls...



Just $9.95 plus shipping and also available (at no extra cost) as African-American Boy and Girl dolls.

[St] Paul has been responsible for a great many things in the History of the World, but with all due respect to the old boy, I do think this is one of the tackier bi-products of his ministry.

PS: Incidentally, it is probably a sexist thing, but why is the girl-doll shod with shoes [of PEACE] that have LACES, while the boy-doll only wears SLIP-ONS??